• Your book Bonefish Barehanded was recently published. You chose a different approach than many fly fishing books.
• How did you come up with the concept and tell us what the book is about.
• Of all the guides in the Bahamas how did you end up fishing with Stuart?
• What was your first fishing experience like with Stuart?
• When deciding where to go to fish what were the factors that Stuart considered?
• How could you tell whether the bonefish were feeding or not? (story about school of 200 fish that were not feeding)
• What did you learn about seeing fish in the water?
• What were the telltale signs that bonefish had been in the area?
• How did Stuart use the tides to know where and when to fish?
• Does Stuart prefer to fish with crab or shrimp patterns? Why?
• What observations did Stuart have about small and large crabs trying to escape into their holes?
• Tell us about how crabs use leaves to evade bonefish.

Equipment & Flies

• What weight rod did Stuart have you fish with?
• Did you bring a back up rod?
• How important is having backing on your reel? (story where client had no backing)
• How long was your leader and tippet?
• What are your preferred size and top three patterns of flies for clear water bonefish on oceanside sandy flats (as opposed to backcountry, mangroves and creeks) in the Bahamas? I am thinking flies for areas like Cherokee in Abaco.
• What were some of the flies in Stuart’s fly box?

Strategy & Tactics

• Casting is important when fishing the salt. Where you already a proficient caster when you started fishing with Stuart? Did your casting improve with Stuart’s coaching?
• How long did your casts need to be?
• What are some the important aspects of casting that one should know and be proficient at?
• How did you learn how to cope with the wind when casting?
• What did Stuart learn from Lefty Kreh about casting?
• Did Stuart have you fish from the boat or did you also wade the flats?
• How did your approach to the fish differ between the boat and wading?
• Do you prefer fishing from the boat or wading? Why?
• Did you primarily fish to schools of fish rather that a solitary fish?
• Did you ever purposefully try to find a larger bonefish or was finding a large one mainly due to luck?
• How did Stuart have you present your fly?
• Where did he have you place the fly? What movement did you give the fly?
• How did he coach you when you were casting your fly and retrieving it?
• How did Stuart have you set the hook?
• How did Stuart have you hold the rod when fighting the fish?
• What factors do you need to be aware of to avoid loosing a fish?

Guide Appreciation

• What are the guide’s duties?
• How hard is it to be a guide both physically and mentally?
• What can we do as fly fishers to make it easier on the guide?
• Tell us about your experience of learning how to pole a boat.